Car check before you buy. What to look for and where to look
Most used cars in this country are fine. The ones that are not tend to fail in three ways. There is finance still owing, so the car is not the seller's to sell. It has been written off by an insurer and nobody said so. Or the mileage has been wound back. All three are on a record somewhere, and you can get at most of it before you hand over a penny.
What a vehicle history check actually tells you
A check is a lookup against the number plate. It reads what other organisations have already recorded about that car. That is finance agreements, police stolen reports, insurance claims, scrapping, import and export, plate changes, keeper counts and the mileage taken at every MOT.
It is worth being clear about what it cannot do. A history check is paperwork, not an inspection. A car can have a clean record and a rotten gearbox. A car can have been crashed, repaired by the owner and never claimed for, so nothing appears anywhere. The check removes the expensive surprises. Your eyes, a test drive and a mechanic do the rest.
Outstanding finance, and why it can cost you the car
This is the one that takes the whole car off you, so it goes first. Many cars are bought on hire purchase or conditional sale. Under those agreements the car belongs to the lender until the last payment is made. If the seller still owes money, the car is not legally theirs to sell you.
You pay, you drive it home, you insure it, you tax it. Then the lender traces the car and asks for it back. How that ends depends on the agreement, on who sold it to you and on whether you knew, so you are into a dispute instead of driving. Nothing about the car looks wrong either. The log book can be in the seller's name and the finance can still be outstanding, because the log book shows the registered keeper and not the owner.
So ask the seller plainly whether there is finance on the car, and then check the record too. If the two answers do not match, that is your answer.
Write off categories in plain words
A write off simply means an insurer decided it was not worth paying to repair the car. That can be a serious crash or it can be a dented door on a cheap old car. The category tells you which.
- Category A. The whole car must be crushed, body shell and all. Nothing from it may be reused.
- Category B. The body shell must be crushed, but parts taken off it may be sold on.
- Category S. Structural damage, so the frame, the chassis, a crumple zone or a suspension mounting. It can be repaired and legally driven, and the repair quality is everything.
- Category N. Not structural, so panels, brakes, steering, electrics, airbags or trim. It can be repaired and legally driven.
A Category A or Category B car should never be on the road at all. If you are offered one, that is the end of the conversation. Category S and Category N cars are sold every day, legally, and they are cheaper for a reason. Buy one with your eyes open. Ask for the repair invoices, get it inspected, and remember that the marker stays with the car when you come to sell it, so you will take the same discount you were given.
How to spot a wound back mileage using the MOT record
Winding a mileage back is still common because it is still profitable. A lower mileage car sells for more. The defence is free and it takes two minutes, because the mileage is written down at every MOT test and the whole list is public.
Look for four things in that list.
- Any reading lower than an earlier one. That is not an error you should argue about. Walk away.
- A long flat stretch, for example three tests at roughly the same figure, on a car being sold as a daily runner.
- One year that is wildly out of step with the rest, up or down.
- A gap between the newest MOT reading and the number on the dashboard today that does not fit the time since that test.
Then look at the car itself. A worn steering wheel, shiny pedals, a sagging driver seat and three previous owners do not belong on a car claiming forty thousand miles. The MOT list also gives you every advisory, which is a free history of what has been going wrong with that car for years.
The free government checks, and do them first
Two checks cost nothing and both are worth doing before you even set off to view a car.
- MOT history on GOV.UK. Every test, pass or fail, every advisory, and the mileage recorded each time.
- Vehicle tax and MOT status on GOV.UK. Tax and MOT expiry dates, plus make, model, colour, engine size, fuel and first registration date, so you can check the advert is describing the car you are being shown.
If the colour on the record is silver and the car in the photographs is black, or the engine size does not match, ask why before you travel. There can be an honest answer. There can also be a plate from one car on another.
What a paid check adds on top
The free routes give you the MOT story and the basic details. They do not show finance, a stolen marker or an insurance write off, because that data is held by lenders, the police and insurers rather than by GOV.UK. That is the part you cannot do for nothing, and it is the part that costs people the whole car.
Our check adds outstanding finance recorded against the plate, a stolen marker, insurance write off and its category, scrapped, imported and exported markers, plate changes, previous keeper count and the full MOT mileage story with a warning if a reading goes backwards. One plate, one payment.
The MOT list also gives you a page of advisories most people cannot read. MOT advisories explained goes through the ones that come up most in the histories we have read, and what each one is likely to cost.
If you have not found the car yet, the £10 Road Ready pack works the other way round. You set a budget and we search the market for you, hourly, and take you through cover, tax and insurance when you find one.
Common questions
What does a vehicle history check tell you?
It looks up the records held against the number plate. The important ones are outstanding finance, a stolen marker, an insurance write off and its category, a scrapped marker, imported or exported markers, how many times the plate has been changed, how many keepers the car has had, and the mileage readings taken at every MOT. It does not tell you whether the clutch is tired or the car has been crashed and repaired without a claim. For that you still need to look at the car.
How do I know if a car has finance owing on it?
You cannot tell by looking, and the seller does not have to show you anything. Finance is recorded against the car at a credit reference agency, so a history check on the plate is the only way to see it. Ask the seller as well. If the answer and the record disagree, walk away.
Can the finance company take a car I have already paid for?
If money is still owed on a hire purchase or conditional sale agreement then the car belongs to the lender and not to the person selling it to you. Lenders do trace those cars and ask for them back, and whether you get to keep it depends on the agreement, on who sold it to you and on whether you knew. Either way you are in a dispute you never budgeted for, with your money already in the seller's pocket. Checking first costs nothing like as much.
What do the write off categories A, B, S and N mean?
Category A means the whole car must be crushed, body shell included, so nothing from it should ever be on the road. Category B means the shell must be crushed but salvaged parts may be sold on, so again the car itself should not be driven. Category S means the car had structural damage, the frame or chassis or a suspension mounting, and it has been repaired or can be. Category N means the damage was not structural, so brakes, steering, electrics, panels or trim. S and N cars can be taxed, insured and driven legally once repaired and reregistered.
Is it safe to buy a Category N or Category S car?
It can be, and it will cost less than the same car with a clean record. Two things have to be true. The repair must have been done properly, which means asking for the invoices and having the car inspected by someone who knows what to look for. And you must accept that it is worth less when you sell it, because the marker stays with the car forever. If the seller never mentioned the write off, that tells you something about the seller.
How do I spot a car with wound back mileage?
Read the MOT history for the plate. Every test records the mileage, so you get a list of readings with dates. A reading that is lower than an older one is a clear problem. So is a long flat gap, for example three years at roughly the same figure, and a sudden jump that does not match the rest. Compare the newest MOT reading with the number on the dashboard today, and compare the wear on the pedals, the steering wheel and the driver seat with the mileage being claimed.
What can I check for free before buying a used car?
Two useful things, both on GOV.UK and both free. The MOT history gives you every test, every advisory, every failure and the mileage at each one. The vehicle tax check gives you the tax and MOT expiry dates and the basic details of the car, so you can see whether the make, model, colour and engine size match the advert in front of you. Do both before you travel to see a car.
Does a car check tell me if a car is stolen?
A history check shows a stolen marker if the police record one against the plate. It is not a guarantee, because a theft reported an hour ago may not be on the record yet, and a car can be given a different plate. Check that the number plate, the chassis number on the plate under the windscreen and the log book all agree, and that the name on the log book is the person you are paying.
How much does your car check cost?
It is one payment for one car, with the price shown on the check page before you pay anything. There is no account to set up and nothing recurring.
Check a car, get told when one turns up cheap or see the Road Ready pack